Talc Manufacturer Suffers Another Monetary Blow As Mesothelioma Verdicts Pile Up

According to evidence presented in multiple mesothelioma lawsuits, company management at talc supplier Whittaker Clark & Daniels was aware that its talc was contaminated with asbestos but continued supplying their product to consumer companies without warnings. With exposure to the mineral causing incalculable harm to an unknown number of individuals, the company has been named as a defendant repeatedly over the last few years. Last April they faced yet another in a series of monetary consequences when a California jury found them guilty of negligence and ordered them to pay 78-year-old Willie McNeal, Jr. $4.8 million in damages.

Vietnam Veteran’s Mesothelioma Linked to Old Spice Body Powder

The mesothelioma victim in this case is a 78-year-old veteran of the Vietnam War. When he was diagnosed with the rare and deadly form of cancer he filed lawsuits against several companies that exposed him to asbestos, the mineral that causes mesothelioma as well as several other serious illnesses. While Johnson & Johnson, AutoZone, Inc., Bendix, R. J. Reynolds, and Shulton, Inc. all settled Mr. McNeal’s claims out of court, Whittaker Clark & Daniels chose to fight. They defended themselves against his accusations of negligently failing to warn of their product’s dangers when they supplied it to the maker of Old Spice body powder.

Talc Supplier Blamed for Mesothelioma from Use of Old Spice and Other Products

Mr. McNeal pointed to evidence that Whittaker Clark & Daniels’ company management had been aware that asbestos contaminated the talc that they were selling to the makers of Old Spice, as well as to the makers of products sold by Revlon and other consumer product companies. The jury hearing his mesothelioma claim agreed that the company should be punished for their role in his illness. In addition to attributing 42% of the responsibility for his illness to the company, they also assessed punitive damages of $3 million as a warning message about their recklessness in failing to protect consumers.  This verdict followed an earlier $18 million damages award that a jury had ordered paid to a man whose wife had used Revlon products and was stricken with the deadly disease.